VORTEX

McNeil Tom McNeilTom@aol.com
Tue Mar 3 19:39 MST 1998


Robert Edwardsen and List -

You need to either (1) dry the air before it enters your compressor, or (2)
dry it as it leaves your compressor.  Perhaps both.

For (1) you could de-humidify or air-condition your shop, or supply the air
intake of the compressor from some area that's already dry, or at least drier
than the present source.

For (2) you could first try an inexpensive air line drier.  These usually
utilize a combination of centrifugal action and mechanical separation
(filtration).  They can be pretty effective if you get one matched to your
system in terms of flow speed.  And they're often available in the $25 range
for the sizes we usually see in piano shops.  If that isn't enough, there are
refrigeration driers that really do the job.  However, they are much more
expensive to buy and to operate.

Now, as to vortex coolers:  These have always seemed inordinately expensive
and exotic to me.  For 25 years I've used a small jet of air directed at the
tip of the drill as it idles just above the target.  This clears away the
chips as it cools the tip of the drill, which is the hottest part, for a few
seconds as the workpiece is relocated.  As the drill enters the work, the jet
continues to cool the rest of the drill, and to clear chips.  After drilling
an entire pinblock, I can remove the bit from the chuck and hold it in my
hand.  The bit doesn't need to be cooler than that to last indefinitely.

I keep my pinblock drills reserved for that purpose only.  They stay sharp
more or less forever!  These are not fancy drills, just ordinary HSS jobbers
drills.  (I do have a few drills that have polished flutes, special helix
pitches, etc., and they're quite nice.)  In any case, they lead a pretty easy
life:  They never get hot, and they never touch anything hard!

   -    Tom McNeil, RPT     -
Vermont Piano Restorations


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